Husted Hardly Sure-Footed, but Hits When It Counts

Michael Husted made sure he was welcome on the trip back to Washington.

Husted, whose job is in jeopardy, kicked a 24-yard field goal with four seconds to play, lifting the Redskins to a 17-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

“I’m still confident,” said Husted, who earlier missed field goals of 33 and 42 yards. “I wouldn’t be in the league eight years if I wasn’t. That’s the life of a kicker though.”

Husted has struggled since replacing injured kicker Brett Conway last month. He missed four of his first seven attempts, but also beat Tampa Bay with a 20-yarder in overtime Oct. 1.

“Obviously, I have a major concern there,” Washington Coach Norv Turner said. “We have to search for answers. It was windy and tough, but the first field goal is one you have to make.”

Darrell Green set up the winning field goal by intercepting a Donovan McNabb pass and returning it 33 yards to Philadelphia’s 19 with 23 seconds to play.

Stephen Davis ran 13 yards on the next play and appeared to fumble, but the play was ruled dead after the officials blew the whistle.

“You never concede and say, ‘Let’s get to overtime,’ ” said Green, who was beaten on two touchdown passes. “Games like this allow you to find out what kind of character you have.”

Philadelphia (3-3) had beaten Washington (4-2) nine of its previous 10 at Veterans Stadium.

Brad Johnson completed 25 of 36 passes for 289 yards and Davis rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown. McNabb completed 17 of 34 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“I felt the pressure coming from the back side, I thought they were playing deep and I tried to get the ball out of bounds,” McNabb said about the late interception.

Philadelphia appeared to get the ball at Washington’s 24 after Deion Sanders fumbled a punt return with 2:43 to play. But the call was overturned when replays showed Sanders’ left knee was down before he lost the ball.

McNabb’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Na Brown gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia began the drive at its 32 after Husted missed a 42-yarder. McNabb kept it alive with a 22-yard run on third and 10, and two plays later connected with Brown, who caught his first career touchdown pass.

The Eagles appeared to take control when Damon Moore intercepted Johnson at the Eagles’ six. But Moore fumbled the return, and James Thrash recovered to give Washington the ball at the 15.

Two plays later, Skip Hicks ran in from the three to tie the score, 14-14, with 10:15 left.

Philadelphia played its first game without Duce Staley. The star running back injured his right ankle in the fourth quarter of the previous week’s 38-10 victory over Atlanta, and might be sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Eagle running backs had 36 yards in 13 carries, and McNabb led with 43 yards.

“We had too many turnovers and mistakes at crucial times,” Eagle Coach Andy Reid said. “We’ve got to find a way to run it better. We will do that, whether it be with the guys that we have or with other people.”

Washington took a 7-0 lead on its opening possession on a 12-yard touchdown run by Davis.